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1. Field of the Invention
The apparatus of the present invention relates to wheelchairs. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus that may be adaptable to an existing wheelchair to assist in lifting a patient from the chair or returning the patient to a chair by a third party, such as a nurse or health care giver.
2. General Background of the Invention
Because of ailments or old age, many people are unfortunately confined to wheelchairs for extended periods of time, or in the case of the elderly, for the remainder of their lives. A wheelchair is a very vital vehicle in allowing people who are not ambulatory to be able to get from place to place. However, particularly in the group of the very aged, or the very weak, the task of moving from the seated position in a wheelchair to a standing position, can be a very difficult task for the person confined to the chair, or even when the person is being assisted by a third party. For example, for people who are able to stand briefly, but are unable to walk because they are too weak, oftentimes they will have insufficient strength to lift themselves from the chair to the standing position, even to move into bed. These types of individuals are in need of assistance in helping them to stand, or, when they return to the chair, in being seated slowly, since they are too weak to lower themselves slowly into the chair.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus to assist such wheelchair bound individuals in moving from and returning to the chair, without placing undue strain on the individual, or on a third party, such as a nurse or care giver, who assists the person in this task. The prior art statement accompanying this application cites prior art patents which may be pertinent in the art, but fall short of solving the problems presented.
The apparatus of the present invention solves the problems in a simple and straightforward manner. What is provided is an apparatus, adaptable to a wheelchair, for assisting a person seated in the wheelchair to move to a standing position, the apparatus including a member slidable upward and downward along the chair; a seat, having a seat portion hinged to a back portion; at least one flexible strap member, engaged at a first end to the slidable member, and traveling along an under surface of the seat, and engaged at a second end to a stationary portion of the wheelchair, so that when the slidable member is moved to a down position, the flexible strap is pulled taut beneath the seat, lifting the seat from a sitting position to a substantially raised flat position, so that a person sitting in the seat is likewise lifted from a seated position to a partially standing position. The slidable member may be positioned along the front or rear of the chair, depending whether the person would be assisted by a third person in front of or behind the chair.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a wheelchair assist apparatus which allows a third person to maneuver the seat of the chair from a sitting position to a second position, moving the person in the chair to a substantially standing position;
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wheelchair assist apparatus which, upon a third person engaging a foot member, the seat of the chair is pushed upward to lift the person seated in the chair to a standing position;
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus to assist a person to be lifted from the chair with ease, or to return to the chair without having to xe2x80x9cfallxe2x80x9d within the chair;
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus which is adaptable to an existing wheel chair which would allow the person in the chair to be lifted with the assistance of a third person with ease from the chair, either from the rear of the front of the chair.